By Connie Calipay
LEGAZPI CITY – The Office of Civil Defense (OCD) regional office in Region 5 (Bicol) said the initial assessment of the destruction left by the magnitude 6.0 earthquake that shook Masbate on Thursday showed 61 houses, 15 schools and six buildings have been damaged.
OCD-Bicol spokesperson, Gremil Alexis Naz, said they conducted an assessment and monitoring of the damages and losses in the province immediately after the temblor.
“As per the latest information collected from the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office of Masbate (PDRRMO), the 61 houses damaged reported are in Batuan, San Fernando and Palanas towns. The 15 schools’ infrastructure are in Uson and Batuan towns which are mostly elementary schools. Also, 16 computers, 10 pieces of furniture and 130 educational materials were damaged,” he said.
Naz also advised the people to be cautious and vigilant over possible aftershocks in the area and nearby localities.
Meanwhile, the Department of Social Welfare and Development in Bicol assured residents of affected areas that food and non-food items are available and sufficient for resource augmentation as the need may arises.
Mary Gizelle Mesa, DSWD-5 information officer, said the agency has P5 million worth of standby funds, more than 28,000 family food packs (FFPs), and 51,540 non-food items (NFIs) already prepositioned in the different warehouses in the region.
“We are regularly updating the data and so far we already provided FFPs to the families with damaged houses. Required documents were already being prepared for the cash assistance — for the partially damaged, PHP5,000 and for the totally damaged, P10,000,” Mesa said. (PNA)
